Berberis buds

One of the March-flowering shrubs of our garden is the Barberry (Berberis darwinii), an evergreen with prickly leaves. It is a plant that requires annual pruning and those leaves have to be handled with care. However, the local house sparrows don't mind the prickles and can regularly be seen sheltering in the bush, indifferent to people passing close by. The photograph was taken before the flowers opened, and the buds were making a fine display, almost looking like berries.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Raindrops on purple sage

I've featured purple sage on the blog before. Unsurprisingly it's a plant I like a lot. But I have to say that I like it best in summer when it is flourishing and showing off its subtle colours and bushy growth to best effect. The photograph above shows one of our plants after drizzle of the sort that usually keeps me indoors. As I drew the car out of the garage I noticed the effects of the droplets on the leaves and I took this photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Berberis thunbergii

In our garden are two Berberis (Barberry) shrubs that came with the property when we bought it. They represent the two main types of this plant i.e. Berberis darwinii and Berberis thunbergii. Given a choice we would not have had them in the garden. But, they are there, are well established, and look fine. Given that, you might wonder what our objection is to the plants. Well, both need an annual trim to keep them manageable and to promote flowering. And both of them feature wicked prickles (see two in the photograph above) that make this, and the disposal of their clippings, a very unpleasant task.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Japanese quince

Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) is a flowering shrub that we have grown in a few of the gardens of the houses in which we have lived. It's the sort of plant that can look great or can look a straggly mess. Ours have tended to the latter. I particularly like Japanes quince that is grown against a wall and that's something we have never done. I've also noticed that the further south you travel in England the better the plant grows, particularly if it is planted in a location that is sheltered and sunny. A setting with these qualities also make it more likely to bear fruit and gives the grower the chance to make quince jelly. This plant is growing in Herefordshire as part of a hedge that receives plenty of light and is relatively sheltered. The number of flowers it is bearing this year is remarkable.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Brachyglottis or Senecio

Science doesn't stand still, nor should it. I remember reading several years ago that some academics had calculated the "half-life of scientific knowledge" at 45 years i.e. in that many years time half of current scientific understanding will be superseded by new knowledge. You can see this at the layman's level in the name changes that animals and plants periodically undergo as DNA and genetic research re-classify species. One example from the garden is a New Zealand shrub with yellow flowers and grey/green leaves. For decades I have called it Senecio greyi: now it is Brachyglottis greyi. Today's offering is a contrasty black and white photograph of this plant's leaves.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10